As most houses in my area, my house was built in the mid 1950s. I figure in 1989 it underwent a complete remodel (based off the date the installer signed off on installation of the old-school “tape around the windows” alarm system and fixtures in the main bath and kitchen. Anyway, I assume during this remodel, they also decided to put down 500 square feet of marble tile in the living and dining room. I’m sure the mostly white and gray, with hints of very light beige tile was nice. Now it looks dated. I know hardwood is underneath the tile, however when I have investigated it looks like the tile was laid on top of an inch and half of mortar/thinset. Now I suppose it is possible the wood was damaged, which is why they used so much, but I doubt it.
So my question is, does anyone know if they think it is possible to remove the cement without destroying the wood? And if so, what is the best method to do so?
An inch and a half of mortar/thinset is a huge amount. It’s been my experience that the only times I’ve seen that much in the way of floor prep is either when the floor is WAY out of level and a lot of leveling compound is needed to bring it to a working level to support the tile, or when there is radiant heat embedded in the sub-surface prep. In either case, if poured directly on the hardwood, it’s more than likely toast. Removing it is a bit labor intensive with a lot of breaking, chipping and scraping. Most of the time, that damages the substrate beyond finish quality. You can install new flooring once you’ve removed the marble/tile at the same level if you buy it in the right thicknesses. Good luck.
1.5" is not thinset. Thinset is usually 1/8" thick max. If it’s 1 1/2" thick, it’s a full mortar bed. It is used sometimes still, like if you need a floor drain with a 1/4"/12" slope over 15’ and don’t slope the deck (a slab depression is much, much cheaper than welding the metal deck and sloping the slab).
If there is wood flooring under the floor, it was destroyed about 22 years ago. Even if it survived a little, all the moisture would have been sucked out by the concrete/mortar over the last couple decades.
If you remove it, you’ve got to remove it all the way down to the substrate - which with 1.5" of mortar and marble tile is going to be a slab on grade, or you’ve got a lot of steel in the house. Then pay attention to the transitions with your new floor and the existing neighboring rooms. A floating floor over the existing tile could be a much better option.
“cement” is Portland cement, made from baked limestone. It’s a powder. Concrete and mortar is a combination of cement, aggregate, water in specific combinations.
I’d keep the “dated” marble floor. In 10 years you’ll be on the cutting edge of the RETRO look.
Bernie
Buy a really big area rug.